1 Minute Lessons
This colorful expression just means that people with similar characteristics tend to spend more time together. Football lovers like spending time with other football lovers, artists with artists, dog or cat lovers with other dog or cat lovers–people with shared interests or tastes tend to congregate. Dios los cría y el viento les amontona.
This grammatically odd expression is more of a fossilized phrase, but it is still frequently used. It’s used when you want to make sure your listener learns a fact. I’ll have you know, I graduated from college a year early! I’ll have you know that it was Sally who broke up with Jeff, not the […]
Can you complete each sentence with the correct preposition? Go! Fill in the blanks with “in”, “at”, or “on”. I knew you’d come back to me __ the end. I’m almost __ the end of the book—no spoilers! Ian is __ the hospital right now, visiting his sister. Ian’s sister is __ the hospital […]
We use the expressions, either in negative or positive, to discuss good or bad luck caused by being somewhere at the precise moment something happens. It can be bad: She just happened to be standing right under the window when the glass broke. A meter away, or five minutes earlier, and no problem. But […]
This is a very difficult modal verb for Spanish speakers, as it’s very hard to directly translate it into Spanish. But in English, it’s sometimes necessary. Some of you will undoubtedly already know this verb for its use for the future for the first person I shall go to the shops after lunch We shall […]
Fill in the blanks with “on” or “in”. The train was due to arrive at 4:02pm, and it arrived precisely __ time, neither early nor late. I turned on the TV just __ time to see the last three seconds of the show before the commercials started. Sherlock Holmes noticed that Irene Adler, who was […]
I can’t tell you where this expression comes from, but it refers to someone being happy, refreshed, and ready to take on the world after a good night’s sleep. e.g. The baby finally slept through the night, and I woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. This expression, however, is often used ironically, particularly to refer to […]
Can you conjugate the words in parenthesis correctly to finish the sentence? Go! I __________ (never/see) any “Star Wars” films Jeff ___________ (never/see) any “Star Wars” films before he died. Larry _______ (live) in New Orleans until his 21st birthday. Francine ___________ (live) in Orleans since her 21st birthday. Betty ___________ (not/do) her homework yet. […]
We use this expression to describe someone who loves gardening and has a natural talent for it. My garden looks okay, but Mary has the real green thumb–just look at how amazing her tomatoes are!
Much like the idiom “get to the point”, this expression uses “point” to mean “the basic idea of a conversation, what you’re trying to show or persuade”. So, when our listener doesn’t understand, or instead focuses on something the speaker considers less important, we say that the listener missed the point, and then we try […]